Guidance for developing and editing legal casebooks
Domain: Legal casebook development and case editing Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-12-15
This skill provides guidance for developing legal casebooks, including case selection, case editing, note writing, and problem design.
Chapter X: [Topic]
├── A. Introduction
│ └── Overview of doctrinal area
├── B. Principal Cases
│ ├── Case 1 (edited)
│ │ └── Notes and Questions
│ ├── Case 2 (edited)
│ │ └── Notes and Questions
│ └── Case 3 (edited)
│ └── Notes and Questions
├── C. Problems
│ └── Hypotheticals for discussion
└── D. Supplementary Materials
├── Statutory excerpts
├── Secondary readings
└── Comparative perspectives
Omissions:
[Material omitted]
...
* * *
Editorial insertions:
[The court here addresses...]
[Eds.: This case was later overruled in...]
Paragraph breaks:
| Case Type | Target Length | Original Length |
|---|---|---|
| Principal case | 3-8 pages | 20-50 pages |
| Note case | 0.5-2 pages | Any |
| Problem case | 1-3 pages | Any |
Comprehension questions:
Analytical questions:
Application questions:
Policy questions:
Characteristics:
Structure:
[Factual scenario - 1-3 paragraphs]
Questions:
1. [Specific legal question]
2. [Follow-up or complication]
3. [Policy or broader implication]
workflows/case-selection.md - Choose cases for chapterworkflows/case-editing.md - Edit a case for inclusionworkflows/notes-questions.md - Draft notes and questionsCasebooks teach legal reasoning through carefully curated materials.